How Far We've Come
by Daniel Goldberg
Summary: In the wake of all that has happened, Sakura has a question to ask


Well, hello to all new readers, and welcome back, all of you who have me on Author Alert.

This fic is in no way connected to any of my others. It is a simple one-shot, set in the Naruto-verse's future. It's short, sweet, and leaves a WAFF-y feeling in the cockles of your heart when you've finished it.

Hopefully, that is.

To those of you who read my other fics, know that I _am_ working on them still. Although it is going very, _very_ slowly now. I won't make excuses, though - the real reason it's been taking so long to put anything out is simply that I've been reading other fics - _incredible_ other fics, and working myself into a depression. I think this story brought me out of it, but a lot of reviews will help also (wink, wink).

Anyway, don't expect a sequel to this, because... Well, there wouldn't be much point in one.

Anyway, Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I have never, nor, in most likelihood, will I ever own Naruto. Doesn't stop me hoping.**

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**How Far We've Come**

_By: Daniel Goldberg_

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"Look how far we've come. Just look, see how much we've accomplished so far. 

"Do you see, out there at training ground 12, that chuunin team practicing for the jounin exams? Do you feel their confidence, their skill? Do you see how much effort they're making?

"We set the bar high, and they'll forever strive to catch up. They'll become incredible shinobi; because of us.

"Do you see that mountainside? Do you see that face there? Do you remember all that happened until it was put there?

"Do you remember the Wave? Did you ever realize how many lives we affected there? How many lives _you_ changed there? I owe you my life from back then, several times over.

"And you've saved me many more times ever since.

"Do you remember the forest of death? The first time we met Orochimaru? The first time you fought Orochimaru? The first time you proved to me that you were better than… than _him?_ I should have known from then that _he_ was never going to cut it. Should have, but didn't.

"That was on me.

"Do you remember how you turned Neji around? Do you remember how you beat him? The Hyuuga with the most potential in three generations or more, and you _beat_ him. Not only physically, but mentally as well. Your determination won out against his unrelenting sense of helplessness, as it always had against everything else. It was because of you that I eventually became Tsunade-sama's apprentice – To not surrender to fate, and, instead, to make my own.

"You inspired him, you inspired me, and you still inspire the people in this village, to be more than they are – more than they ever thought they could be. You do that, every day that you walk among them.

"I don't remember your fight against Gaara, but I remember _his_ words to me afterward. He told me, 'The one who saved you was Naruto.' I didn't believe him, didn't believe it was you that saved me. 'It's the truth,' he told me, 'To save you, that guy risked death; Up until now, you haven't really seen him, so you haven't seen his strength either.' It was true, I didn't see you; didn't believe in you enough. But I did believe in him, and in his words as well. So I began to really, truly believe in you. I should never have doubted you.

"Again, my bad.

"You must remember how you brought Tsunade-shishou back, don't you? You told me such tall tales that I was sure you were making most of them up. It was only in the years you were gone that Shishou told me that it was all true. And it would be months after she told me, when you'd tell me how you could have managed it.

"You gave our village a Hokage, right when we needed one most. You did that.

"You tried to save_ him_, remember? It wasn't your fault he wouldn't come back. It wasn't your fault you didn't want to kill him. It wasn't your fault he did want to kill you. And I've only ever been grateful that, for whatever reason, he didn't.

"You couldn't bring him back, but neither could I. We both tried, apart and together. We tried.

"Do you remember how we saved Gaara? I remember the look in your eyes when you told me about what you hold within you. The same look that I saw in them when you saw how the people of Suna were glad for his survival. A look of grim determination. A look that told me 'Kami, this sucks', but, at the same time, 'I'll never stop until I have that'.

"You never gave up. I always admired you for that.

"The next few months went by so quickly – battle after battle after battle. I remember when Asuma-sensei died. I remember when those two Akatsuki died, at your, Shikamaru's and Kakashi-sensei's hands. I remember taking on the Akatsuki with you, one after the other. I remember taking them all _down _alongside you as well.

"They'd never get their hands on any of the bijuu again. You made sure of that.

"I remember when we fought against the remnants of the Sound – You, me, Sai, Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-san, Tsunade-shishou and Jiraiya-sama. I remember when the poisoned Kusanagi came flying at me, from Orochimaru-Kabuto's grasp, and you stepped in front of it. I remember the thoughts that ran through my head then, as the force of the blade piercing you had driven you to the floor at my feet; I thought of you – of how many times you've given yourself for others, of all that you've sacrificed. I thought of the way you'd smile when I paid you a compliment… And the blush on your cheeks on those same occasions. If you hadn't survived that, I wouldn't have been able to make it. My body's heart or my soul's – one of them would have given out.

"But you survived, and so did the others and I.

"And then, only _he_ was left. I remember how we tried to reason with him. How we tried to make him see that coming back was the best option. How we tried to end his crusade, by ending his target – the only remaining member of the destroyed Akatsuki, Uchiha Itachi, only to face them both in the same battlefield, after they both decided to 'be done with the pathetic dobe before the real fight can begin'. I remember the battle. I remember the destruction. I remember the seventy-two hours that never were, but, for me, will always be. I remember the sight of a final gasp breaking from them both, as a Rasengan tore through each of them.

"It's sad, but it had to be done.

"I remember the three weeks I spent with you in physical therapy, trying to assist your… tenant in restoring your right hand to its proper condition. I remember out first kiss;

"You were lying in your hospital bed, and I was going to take some measurements. I was leaning over you, and accidentally flipped the switch to raise the head of the bed upwards. When I pulled back from you, you were sitting almost upright. The bed stopped moving, but so did I. There was only an inch separating us, and I saw something in your eyes; something primal, pure, unmitigating. I was captivated, and I think you were, also. You didn't move, but I did. And my world exploded as our lips touched…

"Yeah, I can't forget it, either.

"We started dating haphazardly after that. Haphazardly, because you, Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-shishou had to win the village council over to your side. Haphazardly, also, because I had finally attained the title of Jounin and had taken my own team under my wing. Luckily, all your services to Konoha had not gone unnoticed, and the long, but clear road to Hokage-dom began.

"A year has passed. My 'kids' are all chuunin now, and for the last three months, we finally had some real time to be alone, just the two of us, even with all of your new responsibilities. I fall more deeply in love with you every day that I'm with you, and when we're apart, I feel this void in my chest, where my heart should be.

"Because you're it, you know; you're my heart, and it hurts to be away from you. So I don't want to be away from you. Not if there's any way I can help it.

"Anyway, what I've been leading up to is a question I have to ask you, before my heart drills a hole right through my chest. It's a bit unorthodox for me to ask it, but we've never really had orthodox lives. You don't have to answer right away. It might even be better if you think on it for a while.

"You're right, I'm rambling… Anyway, what I wanted to ask you…

"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, will you marry me?"

Your lips fall upon mine, and I'm trapped, again, beneath you.

"Should I take that as a 'yes'?"

You give me a vulpine grin, and kiss me again.

"Believe it."


End file.
